Fact and Fallacy
by ForsakenFoundling
Summary: Ashton Potter, the BWL, has failed to live up to the expectations of the wizarding world. Seems Dumbledore vouched for the wrong twin. Now years of searching for Harry are negated as the very wizard they are looking for transfers into Hogwarts. AU
1. Prologue

**Ciao -waves-**

**This would be my first fanfic, so let me know what you think.**

**First off though, I'd like to get some things out of the way.**

**This fic may or may not have romance, and if it does, it will not be a large part.**

**If romance is a part (and that's a big if, people), then it may or may not be slash or het.**

**The only pairings I would consider would be: HarryxLuna, HarryxNeville, HarryxFred/George, HarryxHermione, or MAYBE HarryxBlaise. I'm not very interested in writing any others, so don't ask mmkay?**

**As I hope you've figured out, F&F is going to be extremely AU, wherein The Potters survived Voldemort's attack, and Harry has a twin mistaken for the BWL. Stereotypical, I know, but I wanted to write one :)**

**Also, this is an almost purely impulsive story, and as such I have no plans whatsoever. Updates will probably be slow, but I will do my best to make them relatively lengthy when I do get a chance to post.**

**It also means though, that I will read each and every suggestion for a plot twist, event, or anything of the like, some of which may or may not be incorporated into the story. If I do decide to use an idea, you'll be credited, of course. :)**

**In this story, I will refer to Harry as Arashi, as that is what he considers his name to be.**

**I believe that's about it, just keep in mind that this is a prologue, and therefore this chapter is going to be shorter than the rest of the story. Reviews are more than welcome, as well.**

**Oh, and the translator I used was GoogleTranslate, so let me know if any errors are spotted.**

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><p>"Another pack of werewolves joined with Voldemort yesterday. People are beginning to lose hope."<p>

"I know Minerva, but there isn't much we can do but hope Harry turns up and train his brother as best we can."

Lacing his fingers together underneath his chin, Dumbledore peered at the severe witch perched on a chair on the other side of his desk.

The aged wizard glanced away, over at a group of complex trinkets resting on a nearby shelf. Compared to the whirring, spinning, and pulsing of the other objects, the group the wizard was observing was still and silent, as they had been for many years now.

"We can only hope that Remus and Sirius can turn up something in Australia." Dumbledore reiterated as McGonagall continued to look unhappy. Rising, the Headmaster meandered over to the window to stare out of it, hands clasped behind his back.

He was about to speak again when Minerva gasped, the uncharacteristic action prompting the wizard to spin and give the now pale witch a concerned glance.

Her stare was fixed on his shelves as she stammered out "A-Albus," and Dumbledore turned further to follow her gaze. Eyes widening behind half-moon spectacles, he watched as the once-inactive gadgets began to twirl and light up again.

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><p>"Watashi wa kore o yatte iru riyū o, mōichido watashi o omoidasaseru?"(Remind me again why I'm doing this?)<p>

"Anata wa, Ishikawa sensei o okora serushitakunainode."(Because you don't want to piss off Ishikawa sensei.) A petite black haired girl smirked at her companion, who scowled good-naturedly at her.

"Dare mo shimasen, shimai. Sadisutikku rokudenashi,"(No one does, sister. Sadistic bastard,) was the reply, and the girl laughed and nodded, conceding the point.

The two were remarkably similar considering they weren't biologically related, both relatively tanned with ink black hair and green eyes. Underneath the dragonskin jackets they each had a mirror image tattoo of a stylized tiger on their shoulder. The similarities ended there though.

The male was about a head taller than his adopted sister, and his eyes shone a vibrant emerald in comparison to the pale jade of his companion. His body structure, while lean, was powerful, and a pale scar crossed the underside of his chin. Another scar, faded with age and attempts at healing, rested above his eye. The distinctive lightning bolt pattern was pale enough to be hard to notice unless one was actually looking for the mark, luckily. He didn't need all the crap that would come with people figuring out he was the brother of the 'famous boy who lived'. His hair was still rather untamed, but had become easier to deal with after he had grown it out until it was just long enough to pull back into a scruffy ponytail at the base of his neck.

A pop of apparation sounded behind the two and they turned to greet the new arrival. The newcomer was a man with close cropped dark green hair and a small tattoo of a dragon to the side of an eye. A dangerous grin crossed his face at the sight of the two.

"Arashi, Katsumi," the green haired man greeted them, and they nodded respectfully "Ishikawa sensei."

Ishikawa grinned at the two, sharp canines glinting in the weak sunlight as he bounded forward to sling his arms around his two students' shoulders. "Speak English, watashi no yūjin. We are in Britain now."(my friends)

"Sorry sir," they chimed, used to the vampire's predatorily amicable nature.

"You ready Arashi?" the man questioned, grin widening at the blank stare leveled at him "Aw come on, you know you'll have fun."

Reacting to the subtle taunt, Arashi ducked smoothly out from under the vampire's arm, flashing a cheeky grin back at his teacher "Keep going on like that and people are goint to think you're going to miss me," he retorted, and the other male snorted, before holding out a bottle.

Katsumi gave her adopted brother a wave before apparating as Arashi reached out to grasp the portkey.

"Kappa," the vampire stated, and the two vanished.

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><p><strong>And there's the prologue :) Let me know what you think.<strong>

**Again, the next chapters will be longer, and Arashi shows up at Hogwarts.**

**Arashi will be in sixth year, and so would be sixteen if I'm calculating correctly.**

**The prologue another story may or may not be posted soon~**


	2. Chapter 1

**And here would be the first chapter :)**

**The response to the prologue was quite encouraging; waking up to find my inbox filled with favorites and alerts made me smile.**

**I'll probably keep my author notes relatively short :) If I get questions I may or may not include them, but whether it be in an authors note or in a PM I'll do my best to answer each one.**

**I've come up with a basic plot for another Harry Potter fanfic, the summary for which can be found on my profile. A more complete summary for F&F can also be found there.**

**The flashback at the end of this chapter turned out to be pretty long, but it has some important background information. Another flashback will probably be included in the next chapter as well.**

**Disclaimer: I'm not JKR :|**

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><p>A light thump and several new magical presences had Dumbledore and McGonagall turning in unison from where they had been staring incredulously at the shelf now complete with whirring trinkets.<p>

The reason the two had been waiting in the Headmaster's office resurfaced as Dumbledore twinkled at the new arrivals, beaming at them while McGonagall settled for a polite nod.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, you must be out new student and his teacher," the elderly wizard greeted them, twinkle unfading as the two eyeing him looked unimpressed. The wizard retained his composure as the blank expression of the taller male suddenly brightened, and he cuffed his student around the head.

"Karera ni jigoku o ataeru, Arashi. Be good,"(Give 'em hell) the vampire grinned, before casting a jaunty wave at the amused Headmaster and faintly disapproving Transfiguration teacher, and clasping another portkey to vanish.

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><p>Arashi resisted glaring at Ishikawa as the vampire portkeyed away and left him alone with the two adults. He had been unsuccessful earlier in wheedling out the real reason that his mentor had volunteered him for this thrice damned opportunity far too close to his biological family for his comfort.<p>

"My dear boy, do sit down," the older wizard invited as he made his way back around the desk to retake his previously abandoned seat "Would you like a lemon drop?" he offered as McGonagall took up a position at the side of the desk.

"I'll pass." Arashi replied, settling in one of the less puffy chairs set in front of the desk and studying the two in front of him.

He definitely recognized the old wizard from some of his earliest memories before being left at the orphanage, and kept his expression carefully neutral. As far as he could tell the man hadn't figured out who he was yet, and wasn't about to give him any hints if he could help it.

He glanced up as the Headmaster began to speak again "We haven't had a transfer student in many years, but I'm sure you'll do just fine. We'll hold a sorting at the feast tonight and you'll be taking classes with our sixth year students. Professor McGonagall here will be your Transfiguration teacher, and you will be meeting the other teachers just before the feast. If you find yourself turned around just ask a ghost or portrait for directions."

Arashi nodded silently as the man continued to prattle on, talking about various classes and the grounds. Finally though, he seemed to run out of things to go on about, and remarked that it was about time for him to meet the other teachers and be sorted.

Professor McGonagall had already excused herself and gone to round up the other teachers by the time Dumbledore began to lead Arashi down the stone set of stairs that opened into the rest of the school. The Headmaster kept up a steady prattle of conversation while they walked, seemingly unconcerned by the one word answers he was receiving from Arashi.

The Japanese-adopted wizard heaved a mental sigh of relief as they finally came to a stop outside of a door, the Headmaster pausing in his ramblings to open it and usher the transfer student inside.

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><p>The first thing that crossed Arashi's mind was that he wasn't fond of being stared at. Stepping inside, he quickly found himself the center of attention as the sound of conversation stilled and everyone in the room turned to study him.<p>

Folding his arms across his chest and falling into a casually defensive position, Arashi returned the scrutiny as Dumbledore began to introduce people.

"Arashi, this is Professor Lily Potter, who took over potions from Professor Snape, who is currently working on a private project." Arashi didn't react at the sight of his mother smiling warmly at him, giving her a frosty nod and feeling a twinge of satisfaction when she glanced down.

Oblivious, Dumbledore continued "And this is Professor James Potter, who teaches Defense against the Dark Arts along with Professor Black." Apparently having noticed his cold reception of Lily's welcome, their smiles were somewhat cooler, and Arashi treated them to the same frosty nod he had given his mother.

"Professor McGonagall you already know, this is Professor Flitwick will be teaching Charms, Professor Hagrid, Care of Magical Creatures." Dumbledore continued on, pointing out the other teachers in the room, who received warmer greetings.

Clasping his hands together, the Headmaster added "And now it's time for the sorting before the students riot." Seeming amused by the thought, Dumbledore held Arashi back slightly as the other teachers filed out to take their seats, Headmaster and Arashi following.

The wizard found himself the center of attention once again as the students figured out that there was someone new standing next to their Headmaster, and the uncomfortable sensation of foreign gazes upon him followed him as Dumbledore brought him towards a podium.

Arashi tuned out a large chunk of the Headmaster's speech, absently studying the massive hall they were in while he waited for Dumbledore to get to the point.

"-And, as you have no doubt been wondering, we have a new student, who transferred in from the Red Briar Academy in Japan. This is Arashi Kuromori." The man began to prattle on about how students should help were he ever to get lost, and that he would be placed into sixth year. Eventually though, he was led towards a stool, where a rather disheveled hat was resting. Refusing the offer to sit, Arashi settled the hat on his head, where the floppy brim hid his eyes from the rest of the room. He very nearly cursed something as a voice sounded in his mind.

_"Ah, what do we have here? Harry Potter, I was wondering if I would ever meet you, though I see you prefer an alias now. Quite a bit of resentment you hold for the Headmaster, ey? Your parents and previous guardians as well."_ The hat mused.

_"Now then, let's see. A great amount of courage and bravery I sense, loyalty too. Ruthlessness for enemies and protectiveness for those you care about. Hm, Hufflepuff is not for you; you would overwhelm them, I think. You would do well in Slytherin, but lack a great amount of ambition. Ravenclaw would be a good choice, you certainly have the intelligence. The house of your parents, Gryffindor, would fit as well, though you have tamed much of their natural impulsiveness except when it comes to those you consider family."_

_"Just pick," _Arashi mentally growled, and sensed the hat give something that could only be called a huff of annoyance. _"Very well then." _The hat grumbled, before it's voice rang out across the hall.

"Gryffindor!"

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><p>Pulling the hat off of his head, Arashi handed it to Dumbledore and headed for the now shouting and clapping table adorned in red and gold. Not his favorite combination in the world, but he'd cope.<p>

A space opened up as he neared and several of the students waved at him to take the offered seat. Seeing no point not to, Arashi offered a polite nod before sitting. Almost immediately a girl with somewhat bushy brown hair started to chatter at him, before apparently noticing that he hadn't heard a word she said and blushing slightly before starting again.

"Sorry about that; I'm Hermione, and this here's Ron, Ashton, Neville, Ginny, Fred, and George." she introduced the others sitting around them, and he greeted each one, carefully avoiding meeting his brother's eyes. He had never really been able to really blame his twin for what he had gone through, aside from some resentment at being forgotten about. His parents, Dumbledore, and Sirius however, were another story.

Before anyone else could start up a conversation though, Hermione had begun to speak again. "So, you went to Red Briar? I've read about that place, it's supposed to be really had to get in and no one knows much about the classes and teachers; what's it like there, what classes did you take?" She finally paused for breath and Arashi chuckled lightly. Where Dumbledore's ramblings had been irritating, Hermione's genuine curiosity and friendliness made her own stream of questions much easier to deal with.

Choosing to ignore the fact that he now had the attention of everyone around, Arashi took his time before replying "Yes, we do keep to ourselves, but it works well. Even in Japan news of the media's treatment of Hogwarts is heard." He paused to take a sip of pumpkin juice, restraining a grimace at the foreign taste, before continuing "It's...a second home, I guess, and my classes were interesting and practical." he finished vaguely, ignoring the faintly disgruntled expressions of his tablemates at the roundabout answer.

Somehow though, he doubted that the information that one of his teachers was a vampire who taught blood magic, and his favorite class dealt in the use of muggle weaponry and silent killing- taught by the same vampire- would go over well.

He skillfully avoided answering most questions for the rest of the feast, turning the conversation away for himself and prodding Hermione and the others into talking about themselves and Hogwarts.

It wasn't until the group of Gryffindors had retreated to their common room that anyone realized that Arashi hadn't really answered many of their questions, but before any of them could bring it up, the transfer had pled jetlag and vanished into the boys dormitory.

Flopped comfortably on top of the covers with his eyes closed, Arashi looked for all the world as if he were sound asleep. His mind was whirring though, old memories drawn to the surface and demanding to be remembered with the sight of people he had shoved from his mind long ago.

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><p><em>"Mum! Mum! Come an' see what Ash an' I did!"<em>

_An excited four-year-old bounded up to his mother, latching on to her hand and barely giving her any time to set down her book before he was dragging her over to the door and outside, where Harry and his twin had built an elaborate castle out of sand with their father's help._

_Dropping Lily's hand, Harry raced over to stand proudly next to Ashton, the two twins displaying identical grins._

_They had relatively similar facial features, but people often assumed that they weren't twins, Harry often being mistaken as younger as the smaller and slighter of the two._

_Both boys were a mix of their parents, Ashton with hazel eyes to match Harry's green. Both had black hair, though Harry's was far messier where Ashton's fell neatly across his head._

_As Lily gushed over their castle, James was notably absent, and when she brought it up the twins' grins turned impish as a muffled voice sounded from within the sand sculpture._

_Laughing, she peered over the tall outer wall to see her husband buried underneath a large pile of sand in the center courtyard, his head the only thing sticking out. He grinned up at her, hair almost blond with the amount of sand within it._

_Later that night they were sitting around in the living room, Ashton playing with James while Harry was snuggled up against Lily with a book almost as big as he was in his hands when the flames in the fireplace flared and changed color._

_With the Fidelius Charm in effect, there were only a few people the wards allowed through the floo, and the Potters glanced up as the familiar figure of Sirius emerged. Seeing the tension on their friend's face, the two elder Potters nonchalantly shifted their children to take their places as they rose. Ashton barely even paused as he was moved, continuing to play, while Harry glanced up, watching his parents and Sirius talk quietly before Lily came back over to the couch _

_"Mum and Dad have to go away for a little bit. Uncle Peter will be coming to watch you, so be good for him, okay?" she said, watching as the twins nodded, Harry frowning a bit as Ashton glanced back down at his toy. His parents had no time to notice though, leaping into the fire as soon as the rather portly figure of Pettigrew emerged. _

_The rat-like man gave the twins a nervous, twitchy smile, before moving off into the kitchen. Ashton had completely ignored the animagus's entrance, though Harry tilted his head in faint confusion at his uncle's odd behavior before returning to his book, although Lily was no longer around to help him figure out the more complicated words._

_Silence reigned through the house, quiet mutters only sounding from the twins as they occupied themselves. At some point Pettigrew had returned to the room, and he was now perched awkwardly in a chair near the front door, staring at the wood panels as if he could mentally open the door._

_Several minutes later the twins glanced up as a loud knock reverberated through the room, Pettigrew very nearly falling out of his chair he startled so badly._

_As the man practically raced towards the door, Harry prodded Ashton until his brother glanced up, and the two kids slunk off of the couch to get a better look at who was here. They could barely remember anyone ever showing up at the door, the floo seeming to be the preferred method to visit, and were curious._

_Pettigrew pulled the door open and almost instantly backpedaled as a small group of wizards stalked in, black robes swirling._

_Neither Harry nor Ashton had ever seen the man in the front before, the other two were masked, and their parents had always warned them against strangers, and these new people looked scary. Not even exchanging a glance, the twins took a few steps backwards as the first man looked at them, before retreating to the kitchen as they clasped hands instinctively._

_They both let out startled cries as a wave of magic slammed into them, but failed to tear them apart, instead sending them crashing into a corner of the room. As Harry whimpered, Ashton went limp after landing in a worse position than his brother and hit his head against the wall._

_Eyes wide, but still relatively quiet after the shock of things, Harry watched as the unmasked man walked up to him, a dark sneer contorting his face that made the boy shiver._

_"So, one of these brats is going to defeat me?" Even the man's voice sounded evil as he stopped a few feet away and raised his wand as the terror finally broke through his shock and Harry began to cry, clutching tightly to his brother's limp hand, though he couldn't seem to tear his gaze away from that of Voldemort._

_"Die! Avada Kedavra!" the dark wizard snarled, and Harry let out a wail as a bright green light engulfed him. A sharp pain erupted in his head and chaos exploded around them. Whimpering as he cradled his head in his free hand, Harry curled around Ashton as a shriek of pain and rage sounded from the attacking wizard._

_There was another brilliant flare of magic, and everything went quiet save for Harry's now gut-wrenching sobs and occasional wail for his parents in the wreckage that had once been a kitchen. Exhausted in every way, the sobs and cries eventually gave way to silence as Harry finally succumbed to darkness._

_When Lily and James finally returned home, it was to a house that looked as if it had been hit with a muggle bomb, an uneasy silence hanging in the air only broken by the occasional clatter and crunch of falling or shifting rubble._

_They would find Harry and Ashton curled around each other in the kitchen, a jagged wound on Harry's head, while Ashton was more battered with a slash in the shape of a V on his shoulder, and a shallow gash across his collarbone. In the rush to get the two to safety, the sharp shards of broken glass with Ashton's blood were completely missed, and assumed to be a more direct result of Voldemort's attack, such as with Harry's wound._

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><p><strong>Reviews would make me ecstatic :) Let me know what you think and any suggestions you might have.<strong>


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